Tag Archives: carolina

My name is Kalina MacKay, and I’m incredibly jealous of you, rising freshman. I’m going to be a junior this year, which means I’m halfway done of my time at this magical place. And for that reason, I would give anything to be in your shoes – bright eyed and ready to begin my journey as an official Tar Heel.

I remember my summer between high school and college, not knowing what the future had in store for me. Would I make friends? Would I change in college? Would I get homesick? Spoiler alert – yes, yes, and yes. Going to college is one of – if not THE – biggest transitions of your life to date. So having these questions, is beyond normal. You’re not alone, we’ve all been there too.

My first snap as an official Tar Heel!

Yeah, you can read hundreds of blogs just like this one on how to prepare for college, but none of them can mimic that feeling of stepping on campus on move-in day, knowing that that day is this first day of the rest of your life. What I wouldn’t give to go back to that feeling. An overwhelming feeling of pure independence…, freedom…, and wait, I kind of miss my Mom…. Not everything about college is easy. In fact, college is very, very hard. But it’s also incredibly worth it.

Yikes, clearly I learned a lot since freshman year… like how to work my blinds….

Freshman year is SO fun. You’ll learn a lot about yourself. You’ll probably make a lot of mistakes and fall on your face a couple of times. But it’s okay because it’s your first-year and you’re still getting the hang of the whole college thing. You’re not expected to have your life together or start planning your future yet, your main priority is yourself and learning how to function on your own.

Maybe you’ll fail a test… or two… I know, I know, we’re all Carolina kids, and we all care about our grades – failing a test sounds like the end of the world. But may I repeat: College. Is. Hard. The beautiful thing about UNC is, even if you fail a test, you get to step out of that classroom onto the most stunning campus in the world, maybe go to a football game or basketball game to let out some stress and forget about it.

I can’t speak for everyone but personally, high school did not prepare me for college. I had no clue how to read a textbook without a quiz at the end forcing me to know the material or study for an exam without a pre-made study guide outlining the exact material on the test. But I figured it out, and you will too. One or two bad test grades in a gen-ed class is not going to wreck your GPA forever.

My first football game with my suitemates Zoe, Sarah, and Kate (208 forever)

Your first-year at UNC will be filled with tons of magical moments in unexpected places: your first time watching a Carolina victory and getting goosebumps knowing those are your classmates; your first time seeing the campus flooded with alumni during homecoming and realizing how big the Carolina community really is; your first time singing the alma mater at the end of a game and nailing every single word, feeling each syllable come from the bottom of your heart; your first class where you feel like ‘this is it – this is what I want to do for forever’.

College is this amazing time in your life where you get to grow up and reach new heights but also are still allowed to be a kid from time to time. You get to plan for the rest of your life and figure out your passions and purposes, while still pulling some dumb stunt at 3am with your roomie.

As the four years progress, things get more serious. Your classes get harder, maybe you get a job or internship, or maybe you get more involved in an organization. Now don’t get me wrong, all this stuff is tons of fun and great experience, but it also occupies a lot of your time.

Not only do you start to get busier, your friends also start to get busier. You’ll find yourself trying to squeeze an hour out of your busy schedule for lunch with your freshman suitemates whom you haven’t seen in ages. It’s never the same as your first-year when you all had free time in the evenings to go to dinner at the dining hall whenever you felt like it.

That’s why I’d kill to be a freshman again. Yeah, I struggled and learned a lot, but I also definitely took advantage of the carefree lifestyle your first-year allows for.

My first time rushing Franklin!!!

From that first move-in moment onwards, I’m not kidding when I say time will fly. So, breathe in every second. Every late-night laugh with your suitemates, every midnight mental breakdown tear in Davis Library, every TARRR shouted from the top of your lungs in the Dean Dome.

Make the most of your time here because honestly, you’ll never get another opportunity quite like this. For probably the first time in your life, you’re in complete control of your life without someone telling you to finish your dinner or be home by 10:00. But at the same time, you’ve got an incredible support community of RA’s, professors, and peers when you need it.

Being over dramatic on my last night in my dorm…

Whatever fears and worries you have about college will disappear in no time and before you know it, you’ll be tearing up as you drive away from campus for the Summer. Carolina is contagiously welcoming and calling yourself a Tar Heel is an honor, tradition, and a privilege. Whoever said high school was the best four years of your life clearly didn’t go to UNC.

Carolina is full of personality to say the least. With that, there are tons of notable figures on campus that our students both worship and love to hate. We love our super successful alumni, but this one is for all the current Heels… Here’s the ultimate breakdown of all the current UNC celebs!

Carol Folt

Of course, the first celebrity I had to mention is our beloved chancellor – Carol Folt. Always dressed to the nines (probably in some form of Carolina blue), Carol is the true QUEEN of UNC. She loves our school and it’s students, and can be found supporting them at various events throughout the year, so stay alert because you never know where you’ll see her! Also, if you see her – you HAVE to ask for a selfie, she loves taking them, and it’s #81 on UNC’s bucket list!

Roy Williams

Easily my fav celeb on this list is THE Roy Williams. He’s only the coach of the greatest college basketball program of all time (Bias? Maybe a little, but that doesn’t make it not true…). Let’s just take a minute to acknowledge this man’s coaching accomplishments.

I have nothing else to say other than this Roy is an angel in human form and we LOVE him!

Any Basketball Player

Along those same lines, any player on the UNC basketball team is regarded as a celebrity on campus. They walk around like skyscrapers in a crowd, which makes them pretty easy to spot. I’m sure when they walk around campus they constantly hear “omg, there’s Luke Maye/Kenny Williams/Cam Johnson/etc.”, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t alert whoever you’re walking with – it’s the friendly thing to do, right?

After Luke Maye saved the day keeping us alive in the 2017 Elite Eight game vs Kentucky, he showed up bright and early to his BUSI 101 8am lecture!

Gary the Pit Preacher

Gary is a man that sits in the pit or the corner of the Quad and screams very radical religious statements at innocent passerby’s. Regardless of your religious beliefs, its very amusing to sit and listen to his claims and watch people’s reactions. Gary has become such a part of UNC culture that students have dressed up as him for Halloween!

Rumor has it that Gary has retired/is retiring soon, and many new pit preachers are surfacing to fill his shoes. But no one will ever replace Gary the original.

Quad Whistler

I’m not really sure if this counts as a notable figure since most wouldn’t recognize him in person, but one thing is for sure – we’ve all heard that whistle. He strolls through McCorkle Place so often that you may think there’s an automated whistling sound track running over some loud speakers in the quad.

The face behind the voice, courtesy of DTH!

Joann Traffic Guard

As you cross the streets of UNC, you’ll often be greeted by traffic guards making sure you make it safely to the other side. Joann is one of these people, but she’s incredibly special to the Carolina community. She will always respond to your “thank you”, and always has a smile on her face – through rain or shine. Students are such a big fan of this hero that a GoFundMe page was started to fund Joann’s travels to Arizona to visit her son. This fundraiser raised over $7700 – 11 times it’s original goal of $700!

Joann receiving her funds, photo courtesy of DTH.

Dan Reichart

It seems fitting to end with another beloved, but less-known UNC hero. Before November of 2017, Dan Reichart was just a Physics and Astronomy Professor. But when there was an attempted bombing of the Davie Poplar tree, Reichart literally jumped in the fire to save the day. Surviving with second degree burns, the fire exploded on the professor as he was trying to extinguish it. We’re so thankful for Reichart’s actions in saving the momentous Carolina tree!

Reichart trying to put out the Davie Poplar fire

If I missed your favorite current UNC figure, let me know in the comments! And if you see any of these guys around campus this year, be sure to ask for a selfie 😊

Okay it’s true, Tar Heels love their basketball. No, we worship our basketball. From late November to early April, the one thing getting us through our Winter blues is that Carolina plays in the upcoming future. We plan our schedules around the Heels, ensuring that we are free to watch each and every game. That is all incredibly true. But we will never be just a basketball school. The passion for the color on our backs bleeds into each and every sport. Need some facts to back it up? Look no further.

Women’s Soccer

A classic example of Carolina talent in it’s purest form, this team holds a whopping 22 National Championship titles[1]. For comparison, the next university with the most titles in this sport is Notre Dame with three titles. To say that Carolina is dominant in Women’s Soccer is an understatement. It should come as no surprise that several Tar Heel alums have won Olympic Gold Medals in this sport. We are so proud to call this program, led by Anson Dorrance, our own.

Field Hockey

Coming in third in the natty count behind Women’s Soccer and Men’s Basketball is Field Hockey with six championship titles! Most recently, the Heels made it all the way to the Final Four in 2017. This team was also home to six women who earned All-ACC Academic honors, proving that they are successful both on and off the field!

UNC has won 20 out of the 35 ACC Field Hockey tournaments that have been played. That is, while the team accounts for 12.5% of the league, it owns ~57% of the tournament titles. In the 2016 Olympic Games, five out of the 16 players on Team USA were former Tar Heels[2].

Men’s Lacrosse

In 2016, UNC secured their fifth National Championship title in Men’s Lacrosse. The team also holds 13 ACC champions, the second most in the league behind Virginia. Next Thursday, June 28th you can catch four of these former Heels in action in the Major League Lacrosse All-Stars match[3]!

Baseball

While our baseball team has never won a College World Series, this is such a talented team worth noting. This year the team made it all the way to the CWS, and while they weren’t able to bring home the title, we are still so proud of their incredible season! This team has six ACC tournament titles and 11 regular season titles, most recently in 2018.

Another reason to love the Diamond Heels? Keenan Stadium and the Dean Dome are amazing places, but there is nothing better than spending a day in the Boshamer Stadium, watching the Heels play baseball, under a beautiful Carolina blue sky!

Football

So we’ve had our ups and downs with the football program here. While every season may not have been as picture perfect as we may have hoped, this program has created some remarkable successes worth noting. Greg Ellis, Julius Peppers and Mitch Trubisky are among the 215[4] Tar Heels that have played in the NFL.

Cross Country, Track and Field, Fencing, Golf, Tennis, Wrestling, Gymnastics, Rowing, Softball, Swimming and Diving, Volleyball, Men’s Soccer, Women’s Basketball, and Women’s Lacrosse – I didn’t forget about you guys. But if I raved about each and every Carolina team (which I promise, I totally could), this blog post would go on FOREVER.

So moral of the story, while our basketball team is home to seven National Championships, an incredible coach with over 800 career wins, and amazingly talented athletes; at UNC we love all our sports just the same – and we will not stand to be called a ‘basketball school’.

With almost 19,000 undergraduates, it would hypothetically be easy to blend in at Carolina. But one of my favorite things about our university is that “blending in” isn’t something Tar Heels love to do. There are so many ways to get involved in campus to make yourself stand out that make 19,000 not seem so big or scary at all!

Join a Student Organization

With over 800 student organizations to choose from, it’s almost impossible to not fall in love with at least one! With everything from politics to dance to service, there is sure to be an organization with your name written all over it.

Eight hundred options can seem overwhelming, that’s why Carolina Union hosts FallFest at the end of move in weekend each year. At this beloved UNC event, hundreds of representatives from student organizations set up tables to explain why YOU should join their organization. It’s a super fun event complete with free food, performances, and meeting new friends!

Fall Fest is a popular event for new and returning Heels alike!

Become a Leader in your Org

Once you get settled into the organizations you’re passionate about, stay dedicated to them. Being a leader in a college organization has shaped my Carolina experience. While you may have been president of your high school’s National Honor’s Society chapter, leading a university organization comes with much more responsibility and power. The officers are in charge of everything, from finances to registering with the university to dealing with internal conflicts. By holding a leadership position, not only are you impacting your organization, you also learn a lot about yourself and maybe even your future goals!

Get Involved in Greek Life

This is a popular one that I’m sure you’ve heard all about, and probably have your own ideas about already. While this wasn’t the route for me, I have tons of friends who have found their home at Carolina in a sorority or fraternity. Keep in mind that the meaning and importance of Greek Life extends way beyond all the stereotypes. I highly recommend looking into it with an open mind to explore if you’re interested in rushing!

Members of UNC Fraternities and Sororities coming together.

Participate in an Intramural Sport

Continuing with the theme of endless options, UNC offers over 50 intramural sports for all skill levels. This is a fun way to channel your inner natty champ winning athlete, get your exercise in, and meet tons of cool people!

From sit-down volleyball to cornhole, there are tons of unique sports for you to try! And if you can’t find your passion, you are more than welcome to start your own team. All you have to do is pull together a few teammates and register with Campus Rec! For more details, check out this link.

Win an event, score a coveted Intramural Champ T-Shirt!

…Or Just Attend Sporting Events

If you, like me, aren’t as athletically gifted, you can still get involved while staying on the sidelines! Even with little knowledge of sports (speaking from experience) supporting your talented peers can be tons of fun. At the University of National Champions, we’re really into school spirit so this one is a must. With free tickets to games, you might as well take advantage of this incredible perk while you’ve got it. Supporting the Heels is honestly therapeutic, you can let out all the stress from classes with one big “TARRRR…”

#GetIntoIt!!!!!

Bond with a Professor or Mentor

The staff at UNC is amazing and they are all so incredibly passionate about their jobs – teaching you! Even in those huge lecture halls where it can be easy to sit in the back row, go that extra mile to make sure your professor knows you. Whether it’s sticking around for a couple of minutes after class, shooting them an email, or attending office hours, professors will appreciate students that express interest!

Even if you understand the course material perfectly, simply introducing yourself is a great way to start getting involved in the UNC community. Adults have been in our position and can offer everything from job references to life advice.

Bottom line is: no matter how you do it, step outside of your comfort zone and get involved! At Carolina there are so many ways to do so without ever leaving campus, and involvement will help you find yourself, your people and even what you want to do with your life. Don’t spend your four years in your dorm!

UNC is a constant sea of Carolina Blue, filled with die hard Tar Heels who have been born and bred into the family… or at least that’s how the saying goes. But for me, and many other students, this isn’t the case. In fact, my story of how I came to bleed Carolina blue is quite different than the alma mater I chant at the end of every game.

2012

My story starts six years ago when my big sister decided to go to UNC, and I decided (out of sibling spite) I would love Dook. I wasn’t devoted to our gothic rivals, but I took every opportunity I could find to remind my sister what I believed to be true, that Dook was the better blue (which as we all know is a down right lie).

On move-in day I put on a Tar Heel shirt (the least Carolina Blue one I could find) to show my support, but on every other day I would sport Devils gear when I could find it – which became a difficult task growing up in a Tar Heel family. I would take pictures in Dook hats thinking I was so cool; pictures that are now so embarrassing and often come back to haunt me.

My sister (Bryanna MacKay) and I on her freshman move-in day, circa 2012.

2016

Flash forward two years… it’s college decision time for me and I’m an absolute wreck without a dream school or clear path. Carolina seemed like a good fit and an obvious choice being an in-state student, so I applied here and five other schools. After I got back all my decisions I was torn between UNC and Syracuse University – two schools that checked off every box on my list. They both felt like they could be my future home, each with a great journalism program and big on school spirit. They also happened to be two schools playing each other in the NCAA Men’s Basketball Final Four.

Everything in my heart was telling me to go to UNC, but I needed a little push to solidify my decision. So I told my Dad “If Carolina wins tonight, I’m enrolling tomorrow.” He laughed it off, but I was incredibly serious. On April 2nd, 2016, the Tar Heels beat the Orange 83 to 66. On April 3rd, 2016, I paid my enrollment deposit to UNC Chapel Hill.

THANK YOU Heels, for winning this game and deciding my fate.

Today

Since that moment, I’ve never had a single doubt in my mind that I made a wrong decision. I remember walking through the pit one day in maybe my second week on campus thinking “I’m so lucky”. After all, we get to take classes and live in the most beautiful place in the South, what more could we really ask for??

It’s the way the sun hits the quad under a mesmerizing Carolina blue sky. It’s the smile on the little boy’s face as he walks into the Dean Smith Center with the sparkling number 23 on his chest. Or the feeling of never being completely alone, even if when you feel like you’re hitting rock bottom during finals.

Calling myself a ‘dook fan’ growing up is no comparison to my dedication to this university. There is nothing that gets me more excited than waking up early on a Saturday morning to wait three hours in the cold for a spot on the risers. I will always get goosebumps during the Tar Heel lights show and tear up during the intro video (seven… seven… SEVEN national championships). And I will always shout the alma mater from the top of my lungs, win or lose.

Me (front row, right) taking jump around too seriously, per usual.

I love Carolina for welcoming me in and never making me feel like I was an outsider. When I chant “I’m a Tar Heel born, I’m a Tar Heel bred, and when I die I’m a Tar Heel dead”, I really feel like that’s true and it unites me with all my classmates – no matter what our backgrounds may be.

My point is you don’t have to be born into the Carolina family to be a Tar Heel. All those who support UNC support each other, no matter who you have supported in the past. And to me, that’s why this university is such a priceless gem.

There’s a certain culture around college students. Getting good grades is not enough anymore, clubs aren’t enough anymore, we need to work as well! Summers are a great opportunity to put what you learned to the ultimate test – with a summer job! Chemistry and Biology students want to work in a lab, business students want to work for a big company, etc. Unfortunately, unless you’re a junior, finding a summer internship can be pretty tough. Even if you are a junior, it can still be discouraging if you apply as much as you can but you still can’t seem to get a response. Here are some tips on where to look for a job and also some tips on what to do if a job isn’t for you this summer!

1. Prepare a Resume

Applying for a job becomes significantly easier if you have a resume prepared. It can be helpful to tailor a resume for each job you apply to but having a general one prepared for a quick application is always handy. Plus, changes are easy to make once you have the skeleton all typed out.

Helpful tips: Use strong action verbs for you bullets and include quantifiable results whenever you can! Remember – you don’t need official work experience to have a strong resume. List any extracurricular activities where you have contributed a lot of your time!

Click on this link to see some good examples of resumes for multiple jobs and industries!

2. Update your LinkedIn

LinkedIn is like the Facebook/Twitter/Instagram of the professional world! LinkedIn is a very useful tool for applying to jobs as well as connecting to the vast UNC alumni network. You can often utilize this connection to get more information about a place you want to work. Everyone is willing to help out their fellow Tar Heel! Make sure you have a professional photo and a strong summary. After that, it’s pretty simple to format your LinkedIn like your resume.

3. Create a Profile on Handshake

If you haven’t heard, Handshake is a useful resource provided by the university to help you apply for jobs. Many recruiters will post their open positions on handshake and will accept their applications there. Unlike other job websites like Indeed.com or Glassdoor, Handshake has a higher concentration of jobs available specifically for students. You can find Handshake here.

4. Check Out other Job Sites

That being said, Indeed.com and Glassdoor.com are still incredibly useful tools as well. Check in periodically to find job postings that might look attractive to you!

5. Look for other Summer Options

It’s important to remember that finding is a job is not always feasible for everyone and is not the only option to pursue.

Summer classes are incredibly useful – you can get extra credits to help you graduate on time, early, or even get a second major.

Studying abroad is also a good choice since many employers actually want to see experience abroad. Plus, if you don’t get to travel in college, when will you be able to travel?

Volunteering is like a job, but unpaid. It feels wonderful to give back to the community and is as equally impressive on your resume.

Working on campus over the summer is a good way to get extra experience as well. For example, UNC Housing is hiring summer interns right now! Click here for more info!

As you can see, you have plenty of options and your summer isn’t something you should stress out about. The most important thing to remember is that you should never give up! Sometimes it takes apply to 1000 jobs to get that one job – but it’s totally worth it!

Welcome to UNC! You should be proud! You’ve busted your butt for the past four years proving to us and to everyone else that you’re good enough to be a Tar Heel…now what? Where are you going to live? How are you going to decide where to live? This time is filled with a lot of questions. While we can’t answer all of them, we CAN help you navigate our housing process! Here are 5 steps to take in order to get your housing cleaned up and put away!

1. Pay the UNC Deposit and Officially Become a Tar Heel

You won’t be able to access the application portal until you’ve paid this deposit. After all, we can’t offer UNC Housing to someone who isn’t a UNC student yet!

Once you’ve paid it, wait a few days for the transaction to go through. After that, the portal is free to access!

2. Find a Roommate

This is a step that is intimidating to some. Going in random is definitely an option and nothing to be afraid of! Some people have found their best friends with the random selector!

Another option is looking to Facebook! Lot’s of people post online in order to find a roommate. Carolina Housing has also recently started a group devoted specifically to people looking for roommates! Click the photo below to go the roommate group!

You’re next option is conveniently available in your application portal! Just fill out your profile! The portal will automatically suggest to you several people it thinks are compatible and will give you a rating from 0% compatible to 99% compatible.

3. Fill Out Your Application

Once you have or haven’t found you roommate, you’re good to fill out an application! Our first-years have a specific set of residence halls they are allowed to be a part of. As a first-year, you don’t choose where you’re living, but instead indicate what your preferences are! Housing will try to assign you to your top three choices! We don’t do it on a first come, first serve basis, so it doesn’t matter when you fill it out as long as you fill it out before our deadline, May 15th! Fill out your application here!

4. Decide If You Want to Be Part of an RLP

RLPs, or Residential Learning Programs, are a great way to be a part of community that is just like you! Whether you’re a proud member of the LGBTQ+ community or you’re passionate about service, there is a place for you! Each RLP has their own designated building. The best part of this deal is that if you get accepted into an RLP, you’re automatically assured a place in that community. For example, even though Morrison Residence Hall isn’t open to first-years, if you’re part of the Sustainability RLP, you’ll get to live there!

“Thanksgiving is about following tradition; Friendsgiving is about making new ones.”

Hey y’all! Thanksgiving break is coming up soon, and I’m sure you guys are excited to see your family again. It kind of sucks not being able to celebrate Thanksgiving with your friends from college- but fear not! Friendsgiving has been a popular event for people who don’t get to spend the holiday with one another. It’s basically Thanksgiving, except with your friends!

I had my first Friendsgiving with my suitemates last year, and it turned out to be one of the most memorable events of my first year. If you’re interested in establishing your own Friendsgiving, I have some advice to make it great.

Great Friends = Great Friendsgiving

How to Host a Friendsgiving to Remember!

Pick a time and place

Yeah, I know it seems like basic advice. But picking a time and venue where everyone can meet can be difficult. My suite held our Friendsgiving in the Ehringhaus lounge and found it to be the perfect place. I highly recommend looking into your residence hall’s lounge for Friendsgiving (plus- chances are it’s close to the kitchen)!

Assign roles

To have a successful Friendsgiving, everyone needs to play a part! Do you have that one friend who bakes cookies for everyone during midterms? Designate that friend as head chef amongst your friends. If you’re not as savvy in the kitchen, don’t worry! You can help out by buying utensils, ingredients, and decorating.

Food

You can’t have a proper Friendsgiving without food! Friendsgiving isn’t meant to be as extravagant as Thanksgiving, so don’t worry about breaking your wallet. A turkey is a great homage to tradition, but a chicken makes a fine substitute. Think about investing in foods that will feed a lot of people for low cost. Macaroni and cheese and biscuits are some examples of great foods to invest in.

The Friendsgiving platter is important!

Whether you plan on having a Friendsgiving or not, be sure to take time to be thankful.

Don’t know how you’re getting home for Thanksgiving? Check out this PDF:

All though we all wish that our roommate is going to be our best friend, the best man or maid of honor at our wedding, it doesn’t always turn out like that. Disappointment can happen with anyone – your best friend or a random roommate. Sometimes you just gotta break up with them. Here are ten ways to do that and survive:

1. Text them

You hate confrontation? It’s understandable – no one likes to crush someone’s hopes and dreams. If you wanna be that guy, just send them a quick text. They’ll probably forgive you.

2. Take them to Lunch

There is no better way to soften the blow of heartbreak than a full belly. Take them out to Buns, get them a good burger, and wait until their mouth is full so they can’t say anything back.

3. Use your RA to Set Up a Meeting

Sometimes you need a mediator. If you don’t mind having another person to listen to the conversation, they could help soften the blow. Who knows? Maybe with the RA there, you can work out your differences and be roomies after all.

4. Send them this Blog Post

5. Tell them they should go to the Roommate Mixer.

6. Lie

Tell them you’re moving far far away and can never see them again. You’re OBVIOUSLY going to miss them but a long distance relationship would never work out.

7. “It’s not you, it’s me!”

This is actually pretty valid. Not every pair is meant to live together. Sometimes the person you’re living with is great, but you just can’t handle the fact they leave your room a mess. Sometimes you just have really specific needs they can’t handle. If you have a weird pet peeve, it’s obviously not their fault, you just need to find someone to satisfy you.

8. Tell them a Joke

“Knock knock.”

“Who’s there?”

“Not your roommate!”

Burn.

9.Make them Dump You

Just be so bad that they tell you they want a new roommate.

“Oh really? That’s too bad, but it’s probably for the best.”

10. Be Honest and Real

Okay, numbers 1-9 may or may not be the best ways to break up with your roommate. More than anything, you just need to be honest with them. Remember, they are people too, and you guys have already had a pretty unique experience together. They deserve to be told kindly. Just sit them down one day and tell them exactly why you guys working out. Not to mention, if you’ve been feeling kind of bad about rooming together, chances are, they feel the same way. It’s only awkward if you make it awkward.

That’s it, folks. Obviously some of these are a little more light-hearted – and that’s just to let you know that this process doesn’t have to be the most stressful thing in the world. Be nice, be respectful, and just do what you gotta do.

On the other hand, if you find yourself on the side of being dumped, really consider coming to the roommate mixer on November 6th on the Great Hall hosted by Carolina Housing. It will be in the style of speed dating where you get a chance to ask someone a lot of questions in a limited amount of time before moving to the next person! It’ll be a really fun, and even if you don’t find your roommate, you’ll definitely find some friends.

Like Buns vs. Al’s Burger shack (Buns all the way) we have suite style vs. hall style. While both have their merits and can be debated for a LONG time, we’re not going to do that today. Instead, we’re going to talk about something that’s perhaps a little less known: SUPER SUITES!

What is a Super Suite…and why haven’t I heard of it?

Super suites are exactly what they sound like: SUPER suites. In other words, you take everything that a suite (like in HOJO, Craige, Ehringhaus, etc.) has to offer, then you knock out a wall and make the one room a living room.

So now instead of a traditional 8 person suite, you have a 6 person suite, a living area, and finally a door to separate the toilet from the sinks!

This is obviously a pretty obvious choice for tight knit friend groups, but why don’t more people know about it? That’s because as far as rooms go, they’re pretty rare. So rare, they’re only found in one residence hall, Morrison. Even more rare, they’re only on the 8th, 9th, and 10th floors. If you get a super suite, you are one lucky duck. You can get extra info on them on the Housing Website!

Will I like living there?

The SUPER question here is, what is it like living there? Will I like it, is it for me? We had a current super suite resident answer some questions for us to help you decide if the super suite life is for you!

Q: Why did you want to live in a super suite?

A: I thought it would be a good transition between living in a traditional dorm and living in an apartment.

Q: You have lived in a super suite for the past 2 months. What is the best thing/your favorite thing about living in a super suite?

A: You can have a private space and still have a more public space where you can chat with people you live with but you’re not obligated to because you still have your own space.

Q: Do you think this makes you a more social person?

A: Yes, I would say. I think this makes me more social than if I was living in a room with just one person.

Q: What is your least favorite thing about living in a super suite?

The bathroom situation. Since no one is cleaning it daily, you have to figure out the situation very early on such as toilet etiquette, shower etiquette, cleaning etiquette etc. Sometimes it can be hard to coordinate that if you’ve never had to worry about it before.

Q: Do you think after living here you would prefer the super suite above anything else?

Yes, I really like it here because it’s so spacious and nice. I lived in Granville last year and I definitely like the supersuite more even though Granville is pretty big also.

What is it going to cost me?

There it is folks! If you’re thinking about cost, super suites are $3,585/student/semester. That’s slightly more expensive than the $3,240/student/semester, (You do get your own little living room after all.)

If for some reason you don’t manage to get a super suite, a good alternative is a Ram Village apartment with double occupancy rooms. You get an extra bathroom per pair, a kitchen, and a living room for less than 200 dollars extra. (In case you were wondering, the rate for that kind of apartment is $3,709/student/semester).

You should always consider all your options before making a decision, but as far as decisions go, this one is a pretty easy one!